Top 10 Facts about Canada Olympic Park, Calgary

Canada Olympic Park by lienyuan lee – Wikimedia commons

Top Ten Facts About Canada Olympic Park, Calgary

Canada Olympic Park was formerly known as Paskapoo Ski Hill. It was founded by Members of the University of Alberta Ski Team in 1960 as Paskapoo. It was in during the preparation for the 1988 Winter Olympic games that Paskapoo Ski Hill was turned into Canada Olympic Park by the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA).

The 1988 Winter Olympic games were the first international games held in the Canada Olympic Park. The park is owned and operated by WinSport. In the article are the top ten facts about the Canada Olympic Park.

1. It hosted the 1988 Winter Olympic games

1988 Winter Olympic Games – Wikimedia commons

This is the best-known legacy left in the Canada Olympic Park. The games were held after 24 years when the city of Calgary first organized a bidding committee for the Olympics in 1957. News of the games being held in Calgary spread fast and deeper.

The Park was the main venue for bobsleigh, luge, nordic combined, ski jumping, and freestyle skiing. The Calgary games were one of the most expensive Olympics ever held at the time. The games cost C$829 million.

2. The Park is used for winter and summer activities

Canada Olympic Park by Daniel – Wikimedia commons

During winter when plunging temperatures and ice weather are experienced in Calgary, Canada, people use the opportunity to carry out recreational activities in the park. Some of the activities are downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, bobsleigh, and luge.

During summers when the climate changes to hotter temperatures which are also associated with long daylights, the park is used for mountain biking, summer festivals, ski jumping training, zip-lining, and summer camps.

3. It hosts Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame by Daniel – Wikimedia commons

Canada was chosen among nine Canadian cities to permanently host Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame on October  28, 2008. The hall of fame is located at Olympic Park road in Canada Olympic Park. The land was donated by the former Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA).

4. The park has a ski jumping facility

Due to the fact that Winspot is the one that operates the Canada Olympic Park, it also operates all facilities in the Park. The jumping facility on the east side of the Canada Olympic Park campus is under the control of Winsport. The facility is part of the park. The Ski jump is home to the Altius Nordic club.

The ski jumping facility has six jumps ranging in size from K4 to K95. The K18, K38, and K63 are used throughout the year. K4 and K89 are used strictly in the summer seasons. K95 is never used despite it being the largest jump and it is used exclusively as a party venue.

5. The park has snowmaking equipment

Canada Olympic Park relies on man-made snow entirely so as to create a skiable terrain. The hill has an arsenal of snowmaking equipment. Snowmaking starts in early December and ends in early February. Snowmkig though depends on weather conditions and so the weather is a great factor to consider when making snow.

The equipment used is Mckinney stick guns, automated SMI PoleCat fan guns, and a handful of aging SMI Highland fan guns. Water and air at high pressure from an onsight pump station are pushed to hydrants located around the hill.

6. Illegal entry into the park is prohibited

All visitors to the park are required to buy tickets to the park. On 6 February 2016 for instance, two twins supposedly to be twin lost their lives in the park while six others were badly injured.

It said that the group of eight teenagers broke into the park’s track and by using toboggans, began a slide down from the bobsleigh start. The group struck a huge track switching element at track 5 that had been used to configure the tack luge.

The case was ruled an accident by the judge but lives were lost. Condolence to the family who lost their kids. Let us avoid ignorance at the Canada Olympic Park because its icy slides can be fatally dangerous.

7. The Park is home to Markin-MacPhail Centre

The centre is named after its sponsors Allan Markin and Keith MacPhail. Its construction was completed in 2014. The high-performance center was designed as a training hub for Canadian athletes who reached the provincial level of excellence.

The Markin-MacPhail centre consists of a gymnasium, ice arenas, a medical centre, and an office tower. The offices include National Sport School.

8. The park has future planned expansions

Canada Olympic Park by Daniel – Wikimedia commons

City Hall Councilors on June 11, 2012, voted against Winsport Canada’s expansion plans. According to WinSport some land at the park’s base was to be made into a sprawling retail center. The vote was 9 to 5. 

In 2013 after the vote with the City Hall Councilors, the Canada Olympic Park underwent a C$4 million expansion. In 2018, the government provided another C$6.8 million to the park for another expansion. The government funds were exclusively for the sliding track in the park.

9. The park has a large dirty jump park

The dirty jump park has three lines; the beginner line, the medium line, and the bigger and taller line. The beginner line is for practice and predicting the speed for the medium and bigger lines.

The medium line is for practice and hitting jumps, getting in the air, and keeping balance in the air. Kids mostly train on the medium line. Lastly, the Bigger/taller line is for tricks after one has learned the basics from the other two lower lines.

10. The park is a multi-purpose training and competition facility

Canada Olympic Park by Tyson2k – Wikimedia commons

Despite the fact that the Canada Olympic Park was the venue for the 1988 Winter Olympic games, the park also serves as a training arena for the country’s athletes.

This is the main reason why it has always been on expansion plans. WinSport wants the park to fully provide training to its athletes so as to avoid partnerships with other training facilities in training its athletes.

If you are interested in snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking, bobsleigh, and luge, Canada Olympic Park is the sure place to go while for those near the facility that is. Also if you get to be in Alberta, Canada, spare some time to experience the park which mostly relies on man-made ice and hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics.